Thousands of Catholic speeches are given every day. A small minority happen to be given by the personally opposed crowd. Some of those catch the attention of conservative pro-lifers who decide to Take A Stand.

It doesn’t seem to help matters to disinvite a speaker or attempt to do so; it usually just gives the press some fodder for the B section. A bishop disinviting himself … that just means somebody else will get his seat at the head table.

Instead of a knee-jerk reaction of bluster and name-calling (Anti-Pell?) I wonder if the anti-aborts will ever devise an effective strategy to witness to the pro-life cause without looking like a bunch of bumbling dolts at the dinner table.

about Todd Flowerday

A Roman Catholic lay person, married (since 1996), with one adopted child (since 2001). I serve in worship and spiritual life in a midwestern university parish.

about John Donaghy

John is a lay missionary since 2007 with a parish in western Honduras. Before that he served in campus ministry and social justice ministry in Iowa. His ministry blog is http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com

He also blogs reflections on the lectionary and saints/heroes/events of the date at http://walktheway.wordpress.com

He'll be a long-term contributor here analyzing the Latin American bishops' document from their 2007 Aparecida Conference.